LORDSHIP

Lordship is the foundation on which everything is built in the Christian’s life. The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 10:9, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (KJV).

God has an incredible plan for our lives in which He promises to lead us and to provide for all of our needs– spirit, soul, and body (2 Peter 1:3). In order for us to experience the life God has provided for us through His Son Jesus, we must relinquish our life to Him– wholly and completely– period! He is Lord! He is master! He is God! He is our all in all! That is what true Christianity is all about.

This is what some refer to as the “Great Exchange.” We exchange our lost, sinful condition (our life) for His righteousness (His eternal life). In Mark 8:35, Jesus explained it to His disciples this way, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.”

There is an old saying, “Jesus is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all!” The statement makes a strong point. God is not something that we try to work into our lives. He is our life! We do not accept Jesus as our Lord because He may be an asset in helping us get what we want out of life. God is worthy to be praised if He never did anything for us ever again. He becomes the center of all things, and the ruler of all because HE IS GOD!

When we choose to live for ourselves, we are living a cheap imitation of what God really has for us. Genuine peace, joy, acceptance, and purpose can only be found and experienced when we break out of the life of “self” and we turn our lives over to Christ.

Lordship catapults us into this incredible life where we learn to steward the things of God. Ownership turns into stewardship. Everything– our time, our talents, our treasures– all belong to Him to be used for His purposes. We become the instrument of God to carry out His will in the earth.

The Apostle Paul declares that we don’t even own our bodies! In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, he says, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you… and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (NKJV)

When we submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is at work in us to carry out the will of the Father. Philippians 2:13 states this point well: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” 

The psalmist David declares the same thing with these words in Psalm 23:3 “…He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” And in the process, we step over into a new realm of living. Our lives are not limited to human effort; but rather, we tap into God’s ability as we function under His leading. This is totally liberating because we get set free from the destructive leading of our own fleshly motives, desires, and impulses.

Whenever a Christian nation starts to slip from its Christian roots into a post-Christian state, one of the first scriptural underpinnings that is lost is biblical Lordship. Too many people have been persuaded to walk down front in a church service to ask Jesus to be their Savior when there was no understanding of Lordship whatsoever. So they fill out a card and are told that they are now right with God. 

This is exactly what happened to me in 1976! Up to this time in my life, I had not been living for the Lord. After much persuasion, I agreed to attend an old-fashioned revival meeting in my town. A local church set up a big tent, built a platform on one end of it and filled it with chairs. A guest evangelist was invited to come and do the preaching. 

As I sat there in that tent listening to the message about Jesus, I started to feel uneasy. I didn’t want to be there. (I later learned that I was under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.) Then the preacher gave an altar call. He said if you will come down front to accept Jesus as your Savior by repeating this prayer, you will not go to Hell. I thought to myself, I don’t want to go to Hell. So I got up and went down front and repeated their prayer.

But there is a major problem with this story! I heard nothing about Lordship. When I walked down that aisle, I had no intention of turning the control of my life over to anyone. I just didn’t want to go to Hell. I was determined that I was going to run my own life and I was going to do whatever I wanted. I wasn’t looking for Lordship. I was looking for fire insurance and a way to feel better about myself.

Even though many people were excited about me going forward at that revival meeting, the truth is I left the service that night in the same spiritually lost condition in which I came. I did not truly surrender my life to Christ until a year later. I understood nothing about a spiritual new birth or regeneration.

How many times has this same thing happened in the lives of other people? We all know of numerous examples of people who have claimed to become Christians, but nothing in their lives really changed. They still cheat on their spouses. They still hang out in the wrong places. They steal things on the job. But, they go to church on Sunday. 

Why isn’t there any real change in their lives? Because there is no biblical Lordship! They have bought into an intellectual form of Christianity that is far from the real Gospel message that Jesus preached. Jesus said in Luke 6:44, “Each tree is recognized (known) by its own fruit” (NIV). When a person genuinely gives their life to Christ, it should cause ongoing deep spiritual transformation that radically changes his/her Christian walk from that of the world.

On several occasions over the years, I have encountered different people who claim to be Christians but their lives demonstrated something else. In an attempt to justify their lifestyle they would tell me, “Jerry, I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. I am a Christian, but Jesus isn’t really Lord over my life. I will eventually get to that point.” 

The scary thing about what they said is the fact that they don’t know that statement is unscriptural. Until a person accepts Jesus as Lord of their life, He will not be their Savior. But the moment we accept Jesus as Lord of our lives, He automatically becomes our Savior.

In Luke 6:46, Jesus addressed this issue head on! He said, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (KJV). In other words, when Jesus is truly Lord, our lives will be an open demonstration of our love and devotion to His Will. 

At the same time, it is important to understand that Lordship is not perfectionism. Lordship is a condition of the heart. It is when we make a genuine decision to yield to the Lordship of Christ. Walking out a life of obedience to Christ is a learning process. We must learn to crucify the flesh and be led by the Holy Spirit. It is our heart of obedience to Christ that demonstrates Lordship. It will not be a demonstration of a perfect Christian life, but it will at least be a demonstration that is obvious to others that you love God and you want to live your life for Him.

In a time in which many cultures have lost the meaning of the word “Christian” and many confess to being Christian, we must make sure we as ministers preach the true Gospel that presents biblical Lordship and not some cheap imitation. By establishing biblical Lordship, we are laying the necessary scriptural foundation for a godly, Christian society to emerge. If we fail to establish this fundamental truth, the stage is set for a counterfeit Christian culture to develop. 

How does biblical Lordship relate to the core values of Go To Nations as a ministry? It is very simple. The Lordship of Jesus Christ serves as the foundation on which everything is built starting in the lives of our individual members and developing out into the central theme of the overall ministry. 

Lordship establishes ownership. The ministry of Go To Nations does not belong to any man or woman, but to God! We are simply stewards of the vision of Go To Nations, for Him, and under His direction. Everything we do is to carry out His purpose in order that He may receive glory through our obedience. For it is He in whom we dedicate our lives of worship and service. 

Questions for Consideration: Lordship

1. When Jesus is truly “Lord” of someone’s life, what are some of the outward signs?

2. Genuine peace, joy, acceptance, and purpose can only be found and experienced when we break out of what type of living?

3. Is Lordship the same as perfectionism?